Intl. Be Nice to Warren Day, Saturday

(In case you are wondering, why the sudden backlog of posts?, here is the skinny: our internet connection only works from the yard now, and it has been very cold, windy and occasionally rainy/sprinkling here. That discourages one from spending lots of time outside on the computer. And, Andy has been very busy this week with lots of projects, so I have to get my computer time when he is not using it. He would share any time I asked, but, I know he has deadlines to meet and I like having money to spend so...you get the picture. Hence the reason I am catching up today: Sunday! Andy's day of rest! Yeah for the Sabbath!)

International Be Nice to Warren Day started off with Andy taking the kids to the park with the skating track so Warren could try out his blades, sans training wheels. Nat and I headed off to the huge flea market to souvenior shop and browse. Good times. On the way home, I stopped by Picard, he frozen foods store, and bought the popsicles Warren has been begging to try: "Mom--we've never tried French popsicles!" They were good. While the girls napped, Nat, Warren and I headed for the underground, but not the Metro we mean, the sewers, Les Egouts.

I had no idea that sewers have to be routinely cleaned to dredge up the silt and stuff at the bottom. Ew. They use all sorts of crazy machines, like this huge ball and the one up above. There is also a "sewer rescue squad" that you can call here in Paris for emergencies, like dropping your keys in the gutter grates, or a funny smell. I watched a video of the rescues, I wonder how often the endings are really as happy as the video looked! Jewelry, keys, cigarette packs with important phone numbers, strange smells...they do it all. 22 75 44 75, your sewer rescue number.

After the sewers, we found a little play space, then visited the American Church in Paris. It has a bilingual Montessori School at it--too bad I didn't know about that before I came! Warren saw all the little jacket hooks with names above it and then the one at the end without a name and said, "Mom! My jacket will go right here!"

Andy and I headed to Chinatown for Vietnamese food for date night. We weren't disappointed. The waiters flipped when Andy spoke Vietnamese to them, as did they elderly couple who they sat next to us at our table when the restaurant became too crowded. They are always so complimentary to Andy. After Viet food, we wandered around Bercy Village, a restored collection of old wine warehouses converted into shops and restaurants. We sampled olive oils and balsamic vinegar--so good--at Olivier's and then checked out the toy store. While there I found I children's book about a slug, snail and a baby in French, so for Intl. Be Nice to W Day, we bought it, since they are still playing with their escargot house. It is called, "Grace la Limace," Grace the Slug. I saw on the back cover there is also a book in the series called Margot l'Escargot," but I didn't see it at the store. I also found--but did not buy--what I am getting Avery for her next birthday: a bilibo. Check them out at bilibo.com to see these in action. Select English. Watch the demo video. Very cute. And you can buy them on Amazon.com. Avery's newest and cutest word is "Bilbo"--she started saying it last week when I called her that beacuse she looked like a Hobbit, so that makes this especially funny.
After the toystore--and everything else--closed at 9--we found a snackbar that sold waffles and got one for Andy with Nutella since he has not had one yet. Last Saturday--when I thought it was Fathers' Day--I even took us all to the stand where we bought them before and they had stopped making them! So, we were excited to find them here.
We strolled around Bercy Park, until it closed at 9:30 and then followed the sound of the drumming to a neat outdoor concert by Muleketu. Check out Muleketu.com. They were a drumming, ukulele, singing ensmeble; sort of a reggae/samba mix. And they danced as they drummed. It was very entertaining. People were dancing all over. I saw one girl who reminded me so much of my good friend Meg Brice-Heams; she had that same free-ness of spirit and classic good looks, and although I haven't seen Meg dance much, I imagine she would dance like the girl I saw. I also saw another woman who reminded me of Sunny, dancing at "Inside the Bungalow." It was just fun and joyful looking. I hope my dear friends are reading this! It was a great date night, and although Mesa is not Paris, it made me wonder if I went out, just for the sake of exploring some new art or music form, what I would discover in the Valley. I'm sure there are hidden gems everywhere.
Total Steps: 28,012 (about 10 miles)